Triage is the process of prioritizing injuries and body conditions in order of severity. If your pet is seriously ill or has been seriously injured, triage will help you choose the most dangerous risk to use first aid on first.
Before attending to your pet, make sure you are in a safe place. Performing first aid in the middle of a busy street where your pet has been hit by a car is not good for either of you. Relocate to a secure place whenever possible.
Keep in mind the basics of emergency health care: Check, Call, Care. Check your pet’s vital signs.
- Is your pet breathing?
- Does your pet have a pulse?
- Does your pet’s gum color indicate shock?
- Does your pet respond to your voice?
Once you have an idea of the situation, call for help. Call your veterinarian and tell them you are on your way with your injured or ill pet. Be as specific as you can in describing the injury or illness, and ask if there is something specific you should do to help your pet in the meantime. Call a friend or family member to help you transport your pet — it is difficult to drive safely and manage an injured pet.
When it comes to emergency first aid, you want to deal with the most life-threatening problem first. For example, a mouth burn from chewing an electrical cord is not as serious as the fact that your dog has stopped breathing from the jolt. Internal injuries and whole-body injuries (like shock) are generally more serious than cuts, scrapes, and breaks.
These are the top ten triage priorities, in the order that you should try to deal with them.
- Not breathing/No pulse
- Not breathing
- Unconsciousness
- Shock
- Difficulty breathing
- Chest wound/Chest puncture
- Severe bleeding
- Stomach wound/Stomach puncture
- Extreme body temperature: above 105 degrees or below 95 degrees.
- Poison stings/Poison bites/Snakebite
Learn more about rescue breathing for pets.
Learn more about treating poisonous bites.